Fats are not the enemy, sugar is the enemy!
In the health and fitness industry, there is so much garbage flying around, it can make it hard to decide which piece of advice is best to follow.
This contrast in information really comes down to one thing, people trying to make a quick buck (buck sounds better than pound).
Fads and ‘quick fixes’ such as the ‘8 day abs’ type thing are based around one thing.
and that’s nothing…well, actually it’s many things, it’s rapid unhealthy, unsustainable, yoyo like weight loss in exchange for accumulating as much company profit as possible with no client empathy, goal setting or values at heart.
Fads basically manipulate the truth and hone in on a few things.
- Peoples want/ need for the ‘magic pill’ for super speedy results.
- Lack of knowledge
- ‘Lazy’ people.
- The masked promise of the product.
I’ve heard of people taking tablets to lose weight by the result of excessive sweating and making many trips to the porcelain thrown, if you know what I mean.
Is that healthy?
No.
Is it sustainable?
God no.
Does it help the client build habits to be healthy, confident, successful and sustainable?
Heeeeeeeell no.
Here’s an example of something you may have seen on the big world web..
“Fat is the devil”.
“Fat is evil”.
Apparently, fat is the one to cause excess weight gain.
Contrary to belief, this just is not true.
I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT TRUE.
Trans fats (coupled with refined carbohydrate sources) yes, natural sources from meat, fish, nuts, seeds, oils, avocado, eggs and butter, no.
Fats do not make us fat, too much fat will us fat, too much of anything, will make us fat.
At this point, I want to point out that our bodies NEED fats to function, they are essential to our day to functioning.
We need Fats for:
- Making and balancing hormones
- Forms cell membranes – we are made of cells
- It forms our brains and nervous systems
- Organ insulation
- Transport nutrients (fat solubale vitamins – A, D, E & K)
- It provides us with energy
- Dietary fats provide us with two fatty acids we cannot create ourselves (Omega 3 and 6), so we NEED to eat fat.
Now onto the matter of sugar, the main culprit.
Refined sources of carbohydrates yield large quantities of sugar which have a negative domino effect on our health.
Before I go any further, the key word here is REFINED carbohydrates.
Not the healthy smart carbohydrate sources that we can benefit from such as, oats, potatoes (yep white as well as sweet and red), brown/red/wild rice, lentils, beans and fruits.
I will delve further into why carbohydrates are so beneficial to our health and fat loss goals in another blog.
Back to the real culprit to excessive weight gain…
Refined carbohydrates in particular, trigger the hunger mechanism even though your body does not require any more calories, they trigger unnecessary insulin spikes as well as taxing your body of the essential nutrients that it craves.
At this point, it is worth noting that, everybody has energy balance needs based on our biological values, occupation and exercise frequency.
When we exceed our energy balance (depending on our goal) we gain fat, simple.
Energy is never lost, if there is no where for it to go, it goes into our fat cells.
BOOM!
Fat storage.
Especially if we are not exercising.
Not what we want, for our health, happiness or confidence.
Refined carbohydrate sources (high in sugar) tax us of our energy requirements with no nutritional return.
Refined packaged sources of food are generally high in sugar, trans fats and are typically low in nutritional value, they are your main nutritional health deteriorating fat gaining culprits.
Taxing ourselves of its macronutrient and micronutrient requirements is certain to put us on a one way street to excessive fat accumulation and a sluggish lifestyle.
Repeated errors in judgement everyday over the course of a week, a month, a year, a decade, will push us further and further away from a healthy energetic lifestyle and one at more risk of obesity, disease and depression.
Nobody just gets overweight, it’s the accumulation of bad food choices built up on top of each other over a prolonged period of time coupled with inactivity.
Momentum can go both ways.
For example, a standard can of Coca Cola yields 33g of carbohydrates (all of which are sugars), in terms of grams of carbohydrates, that is the equivalent to eating a large portion of sweet potato.
However, the sweet potato is densely packed with vitamins and it induces a prolonged energy release which stabilises blood sugar, rather than just releasing a mass of sugar that produces a large insulin spike from an empty calorie source.
A calorie is not just a calorie, quality matters.
It all comes down to establishing a basic understanding of nutrition as well as obtaining and maintaining a sustainable realistic nutritional approach to make effective nutritional choices.
Yes, there is a way.
If you choose to make good food choices in order to hit your energy needs, you will be less likely to run into health implications, more likely to achieve fitness progression, more likely to improve your mood and more likely to reduce fatigue, ultimately leading to a better healthier version of yourself.
Conclusion:
- Fat is not the reason for weight gain.
- We need fats to function on a day to day basis.
- Smart carbohydrate sources are imperative to health
- Sugar in moderation, will not necessarily cause excessive weight gain, we all like a treat here and there and honestly, it’s important to do that.
- Excess energy intake is the reason for weight gain – ESPECIALLY through refined food sources.
- Maximise your health with whole foods, limited refined carbohydrate sources and of which is relevant to your individual energy needs.